Senior Confessions of A Small Town High School.
This is a blog by a group of teens completing their final year of high school.
Read for true stories, advice, occasional rants, and questions that only high school students ask, with answers to all of them.

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Sunday, August 30, 2015

Guess what guys! It's almost September. And if you are anything like me, you already know what you want to read when it is published this month. However, if you don't, or you have lost track of which series normally publishes in this month, you have come to the right place. This month I will include 9 books that I want to read, (All of which have made it on to my Goodreads Want to Read list.)

1) Has To Be Love

By: Jolene Perry
Hits Shelves: September 1, 2015Years ago, Clara
survived a vicious bear attack. She's used to getting sympathetic looks
around town, but meeting strangers is a different story. Yet her dreams
go far beyond Knik, Alaska, and now she's got a secret that's both
thrilling and terrifying--an acceptance letter from Columbia University.
But it turns out her scars aren't as fixable as she hoped, and when her
boyfriend begins to press for a forever commitment, she has second
thoughts about New York. Then Rhodes, a student teacher in her English
class, forces her to acknowledge her writing talent, and everything
becomes even more confusing--especially with the feelings she's starting
to have about him. Now all Clara wants to do is hide from the tough
choices she has to make. When her world comes crashing down around her,
Clara has to confront her problems and find her way to a decision. Will
she choose the life of her dreams or the life that someone she loves has
chosen? Which choice is scarier?

2) Queen of Shadows

By: Sarah J. MaasHits Shelves: September 1, 2015Everyone Celaena
Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to
the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to
confront the shadows of her past .She will fight for her
cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight
for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she
will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their
lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena’s epic journey has
captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This
fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a
passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

3) Sweet Temptation

By: Windy HigginsHits Shelves: September 8, 2015Bad boy Kaidan Rowe has
never wanted for anything—money, popularity, musical talent…hot
girls—but seducing them is part of his duty as a Nephilim, slave to the
demon Dukes. As the son of the Duke of Lust, Kaidan has learned his
father’s ways, becoming a master of passion, a manipulator of chemistry.
Disobeying his father would mean certain death. Thankfully for Kaidan,
he’s good at his job. And he enjoys it.

Until he meets Anna
Whitt—sweet, smart, feisty, and inexplicably good—the one girl seemingly
immune to his charms. The daughter of a guardian angel and a fallen
one, she has a certain power over him, one that makes him wish for more
than he could ever deserve.

Determined to save all the Neph from
their dark lives as the influencers of sin, Anna joins forces with
Kaidan to overcome the demons’ oppressive ways. In the light of her
affections, Kaidan must undergo his toughest test of all, a battle of
the heart.

Sensual and swoon worthy, this companion volume to the
acclaimed Sweet Evil series from New York Times bestselling author
Wendy Higgins, told from the perspective of the irresistibly sexy and
mysterious Kaidan Rowe, gives readers revealing insights into his
struggle, his intense connection to Anna, and most of all, the true
emotions that drive him.

Author Note:Sweet Temptation
will encompass the entire trilogy in a condensed version, beginning with
Kai's life before he met Anna, and taking readers through the epilogue
of Sweet Reckoning. Sweet Temptation is a companion novel, not meant to
be a stand alone story. It will definitely be a richer experience for
those who have read the original trilogy.

4) Mirrored

By: Alex FlinnHits Shelves: September 15, 2015A modern,
multi-generational tale of Kendra, the witch from "Snow White," who
trains Violet, an ugly, lonely, and heartbroken girl in the 1980s who
transforms herself into "the fairest one of all" but still cannot win
Greg's heart, and Celine, Greg's daughter with Violet's high school
rival, Jennifer.

The tale of Cinderella has been retold countless times. But what you know is not the true story.

Pin
has no recollection of who she is or how she got to the Godmother’s
fortress. She only knows that she is a Seamstress, working day in and
out to make ball gowns fit for fairy tales. But she longs to forsake her
backbreaking servitude and dares to escape with the brave young
Shoemaker.

Pin isn’t free for long before she’s captured again
and forced to live the new life the Godmother chooses for her—a fairy
tale story, complete with a charming prince—instead of finding her own
happily ever after.

Sarah Prineas’s bold fairy tale retelling is a
dark and captivating world where swords are more fitting than slippers,
young shoemakers are just as striking as princes, and a heroine is more
than ready to rescue herself before the clock strikes midnight.

6) Blood and Salt

By: Kim LiggettHits Shelves: September 22, 2015When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in—blood and salt.”

These are the last words Ash Larkin hears before her mother returns to
the spiritual commune she escaped long ago. But when Ash follows her to
Quivira, Kansas, something sinister and ancient waits among the rustling
cornstalks of this village lost to time.

Ash is plagued by
memories of her ancestor, Katia, which harken back to the town’s history
of unrequited love and murder, alchemy and immortality. Charming
traditions soon give way to a string of gruesome deaths, and Ash feels
drawn to Dane, a forbidden boy with secrets of his own.

As the
community prepares for a ceremony five hundred years in the making, Ash
must fight not only to save her mother, but herself—and discover the
truth about Quivira before it’s too late. Before she’s all in—blood and
salt.

7) Library of Souls

By: Ransom RiggsHits Shelves: September 22, 2015Time is running out for
the Peculiar Children. With a dangerous madman on the loose and their
beloved Miss Peregrine still in danger, Jacob Portman and Emma Bloom are
forced to stage the most daring of rescue missions. They’ll travel
through a war-torn landscape, meet new allies, and face greater dangers
than ever. . . . Will Jacob come into his own as the hero his fellow
Peculiars know him to be? This action-packed adventure features more
than 50 all-new Peculiar photographs

8) Walk on Earth a Stranger

By: Rae CarsonHits Shelves: September 22, 2015Lee Westfall has a
secret. She can sense the presence of gold in the world around her.
Veins deep beneath the earth, pebbles in the river, nuggets dug up from
the forest floor. The buzz of gold means warmth and life and home—until
everything is ripped away by a man who wants to control her. Left with
nothing, Lee disguises herself as a boy and takes to the trail across
the country. Gold was discovered in California, and where else could
such a magical girl find herself, find safety? Rae Carson, author of the
acclaimed Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy, dazzles with this new
fantasy that subverts both our own history and familiar fantasy tropes.

9) A Mad Zombie Party

By: Gena ShawalterHits Shelves: September 29, 2015Ali Bell and Cole
Holland's crew of zombie slayers thought they'd won the war against
Anima Industries, the evil company responsible for capturing and
experimenting on zombies in an effort to discover the secret to
immortality. In the last epic clash, the slayers lost many of their crew
and closest friends. But Frosty, the ice man himself, has not recovered
from one casualty in particular—the love of his life, Kat Parker.

On
the path to self-annihilation, Frosty receives a message from
beyond—Kat's spirit returns, insisting he partner with rogue slayer
Camilla Marks. Frosty will do anything for Kat. Except that. Camilla is
the one who betrayed them all, leading to Kat's death.

But when
Anima rises from the grave to become a force the slayers may not have
the strength to overcome, Frosty, Camilla and all the slayers will have
to work together to survive. And one broken slayer will learn that
sometimes, the line between hate and attraction is blurred…and the road
to redemption isn't through revenge, but in letting go of the past and
grabbing hold of the future.

That's it for this month. What do you think? Anything you have been dieing to read? Let me know in the comments section.Peace OutNatalie

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

So, the first two days of school came and went. So far it's uneventful, and I miss my friends that graduated. Biggest event so far is having classes with people in my grade I don't know particularly well. Updates will happen with hopefully undramatic reflections.

Today I attended a webinar (web seminar) about SAIC (School of the Arts Institute of Chicago) which was fantastic. I really want to go to at least a big city school. Art Therapy right now sounds like what I want to go for.

Pro Tip #2: Be open to new Ideas.
I was sure from the age of 5 that I would be a veterinarian. Heh so done with dissecting things and watching weirdness be (literally) born.

Natalie is a lot better about consistently posting on here, but I'll try to make it more often and brief. I'm only always lost in my own head, so no promises!.
My goals for the upcoming year:

Make new friends/ get closer to the few I have

I'm basically a social potato.

I need to open up more with other people and stop using awkwardness and what I call "walls."

Focus on school work, and get organized.

(As much as the idea of a relationship appeals to me, there are no guys right now and if there were I'm not sure I'd even go there. Also, I've had really bad anxiety in past years thanks to relationship drama and I don't even want to go there this year)

Follow through! I always have issues with "Oh I'll do this" and I never get it done.

I'll leave the fashion to Natalie, but I may occasionally post a picture of a work of art that I appreciate/ hate and reasons why. I wore clothes and that's good enough for me. Well, I wore cute clothes. I might be a social potato but I try to be a cute one. There are days where I look like a dude and days where I want to be seen.

I recognize myself (in the light of stereotypes) to appear to be the loner or geek, perhaps even band geek. Those who know me probably classify me in one of these categories if they had to. I dunno not a lot of people know me very well and I'm not sure that I want them to. Last time I got extremely close to another person they up and left after getting tired of me. I'm getting to the point where I'm just tired of people.

Ahh to be as bitter as the exuberant amounts of coffee I consume. ^_^

Finally, just as Natalie has begun to sub-blog about books, I'll probably end up having a song of the week, starting this week! Feel free to share music with me or comment a favorite genre or anything! I'm open to literally everything. (Metal, Indie, Jazz, Screamo,, Country, Pop, Alternative, etc. literally - EVERYTHING)

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Sometimes the most daunting thing about the first day is the question, "What do I wear?" And right now, I am chasing my tail, attempting to figure out the answer to that question.It sometimes seems that all people in high school care about is what other people are wearing. If one girls skirt is too short, that means she's either an attention seeker. If one of the popular girls are wearing the same shirt as another popular girl, they absolutely have to post a picture on Instagram.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

There are just a few days until summer ends and senior year starts. And I am counting down the days. This past summer has been a blast, and I really have had a lot of experiences that have helped me grow as a person.

But seriously. This will be my final year at this god-forsaken small town high school. Graduating class of 200-300. I seriously hope I get into a college across the country with lots of people. But then, people... Crowds scare the living daylights out of me. Don't go to Macy's in NYC on Black Friday

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Many of you do not know this, but I am a huge reader, and I am always look for a new book to indulge myself with. So here are some books that caught my eye this month as I was looking through the new releases. Some of these books have been on my "Want to Read" list for a couple of months, and I am so happy that they are finally being published.

Natalie

1) She Takes A Stand: 16 Fearless Activist Who Have Changed the World

By- Michael Elsohn Ross

Hits Shelves- August 1, 2015

A source of inspiration for young women with strong social convictions,
SHE TAKES A STAND highlights 16 extraordinary women who have fought for
human rights, civil rights, workers’ rights, reproductive/sexual rights,
and world peace.

Saturday, August 8, 2015

My name is Isabella, but everyone calls me Izzy. I'll be a senior in high school along with Natalie this coming year.

When I started high school I thought it was going to be a great time. Looking at my big sisters and how much fun they and their friends had, I was ready to escape middle school and start my path to becoming an adult. Since my freshman year, my world has been turned upside down. I'm writing on

My name is Natalie, and this year, I am going to be a senior in high school.

Three
years ago when I first started my high school experience, I was
convinced that high school was the time that you were supposed to learn
who you truly are. Now, three long years later, I have learned that is
not true.

In those three years, I have lost many
friends, gained new ones, and even had a classmate die. I have